


What We Call Love

by ThatOneGreyGhost



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic IronStrange, I've never done this before but I can't stop thinking about it please dont hate me, M/M, Omegaverse, domestic stucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:15:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27773641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneGreyGhost/pseuds/ThatOneGreyGhost
Summary: A little omegaverse where Bucky gets pregnant and Steve has to deal with being an Alpha.
Relationships: Stucky, maybe ironstrange?
Comments: 14
Kudos: 81





	1. Snapshots

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I know like, literally next to nothing about this AU. like, the only thing I really know is all omegas have uteri. but this concept got in my head and it just. wouldn't. go. away? and then I found this work by the_og_straya(Amazing author, check out their stuff please) and I was INSPIRED(c). So, here this thing is. hope you like it.

Bucky always knew he was weird. But he didn't expect it to be a problem until he went through his first heat.

He was kind of shocked, the way it slammed into him. Every Alpha in the room turned to look at him, their eyes filling with hunger at the smell of pheromones. Bucky felt almost dizzy, but he wasn't sure if it was from the drinks or from the heat. But he felt the eyes of every female Alpha(and some of the male Alphas too) on him.

What shocked him was that of all the eyes on him, there wasn't a single person in the room he wanted. He had always been told that if he was an Omega, he would instantly seek out the first Alpha he was attracted to. But it wasn't happening.

Then he laid eyes on his best friend of nearly 11 years, and his world imploded.

Steve, to his credit, didn't notice any of this. He was a Beta, and Betas were the worst thing you could be in this society; Betas were sterile, weak, sick. The asthma and general scrawniness didn't help either. You picked a Beta for pleasure, and no one was going to pick a Beta like Steve.

So he sat there, drawing, minding his own goddamn business at a party he didn't want to be at, when Bucky came up to him, shaking and sweaty. Steve raised an eyebrow at his friend, who simply drew his arms closer around himself.

"You don't look so good." Steve stood as he said it. He was so ready to go home, and felt bad that he was grateful for how Bucky looked sick. Bucky shivered again, and nearly collapsed. Steve stepped forward to catch him, worried.

"Whoa there! Hey, talk to me." Steve managed to catch a glimpse of Bucky's face, and it was bright red. He was panting heavily, and Steve noticed his legs were shaking. He was about to say something when Bucky grabbed his face and kissed him. On the lips. With tongue.

Steve managed to push Bucky off of him after about twenty seconds, but damn if he wasn't flustered now. Steve tried to brush it off with a giggle, but Bucky was staring at the floor, breathless.

"Ok, you are definitely drunk." Steve managed to steer his friend out of the apartment and down to the street, but he also saw the way people were looking at them, and Bucky could barely stand. He pitched and swayed as Steve got him downstairs, and by the time they got to street, Steve had made a decision. "We are getting a cab".

"We're broke." Bucky slurred, leaning heavily against his friend. His friend who was incredibly attractive, and so smart, and talented, and-

*Stop. Just stop* he thought to himself. *You can't have him. You know that*

"Don't care." Steve said in response to his slur. "You are in no condition to walk. Have you seen yourself?"

"M fine, Stevie".

"You are not fine! You're bent and you know it!"

"Not drunk." Bucky shook his head, then looks his friend in the eye, tears blossoming as he begins to fully register what happened. "Stevie, 'm in heat. I'm an Omega".

Steve is floored. No wonder Bucky was acting so weird. The poor guy was probably out of his mind with all the hormones running around in him. But that still didn't explain why Bucky had kissed him. Or why he was so messed up. Steve had never seen an Omega shy away from a heat before. He'd also never seen an Omega get their first heat this late, so he supposed there was just something about Bucky.

"You are so weird." Steve muttered under his breath. "You're lucky you have such an amazing friend to keep you out of trouble".

That got him a laugh; he knew it would. They both knew Steve was the troublemaker, but he was also incredibly loyal, a quality Bucky was now immensely grateful for. They waited for a Beta cabbie to pull up; Bucky didn't want to deal with an Omegas talking about how "wonderful" your first heat was, and Steve knew that it probably wasn't safe to get in the same cab as an Alpha. Thankfully, the Beta who picked them up lived in the same building as them, and offered to take them home for free. Bucky fell asleep on the way home, and Steve hauled his ass up three flights of stairs before his goddamn asthma finally kicked in and had him gasping on the floor.

Bucky didn't remember anything the next morning. That's what he said, anyway. But Bucky knew that, from that moment on, his life would never be the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Bucky got drafted, he didn't tell Steve. Not the truth, anyway. He told Steve he'd enlisted, and smiled as Steve berated him, complaining about his 4F while Bucky died on the inside. He had a bit of a headache, and he didn't really want to leave Steve, but this was more money than they'd ever seen in their lives, and he wasn't going to be using it any time soon; He figured he might as well give it to Steve. He plastered a fake smile on his face while Steve ranted, pretending to be full of himself.

"And you really think, if they took you, they're not gonna take me? I mean, hell, do you even wa-" Steve stopped midsentence, then looked at Bucky suspiciously. Bucky chuckled nervously.

"What?"

"When was your last heat?"

Bucky blinked in surprise.

"Why?"

"You smell metallic. Go change." Steve pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Bucky shrugged, but didn't question it. He turned towards the bathroom, flippant comment on the tip of his tongue.

He made it all of two steps before he crumpled to the floor.

"Goddamnit, Barnes." Steve muttered as he helped his friend up. "C'mon, let's get you changed before you get lube all over your uniform".

Bucky just groans loudly. His heats always leave him feeling sick, and they normally last a few days too. Steve practically drags him to the bathroom; He just wants to lie on the floor and die.

Later, Bucky has his head in Steve's lap, and Steve is lulling him to sleep by playing with his hair. Bucky has barely enough sense to see straight, but he manages to ask Steve how he knew about his heat.

"I told you, you smell like metal." Steve chuckles, dragging his drawing pad over as he continues to play with Bucky's hair. "You always smell that way just before your heat".

"I thought Betas couldn't smell pheromones?"

"It's not your pheromones, jackass. You smell like iron." Steve props up his drawing pad against Bucky's head, smirking. "And you smell like copper when you're sick, so you can't even try to say it pheromones. I mean, we've lived together for how many years?"

"Huh." Bucky mutters as he fades out of consciousness. He supposes that's an acceptable answer.

It's not until he's overseas and confronted by an Alpha who tells him the same thing that he begins to question it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Steve gets into the Captain America program, he's the only Beta out of all the candidates; the rest are Alphas. It isn't until the serum changes his whole body that he learns what it feels like to smell pheromones, to be an Alpha.

It's so overwhelming he throws up and passes out the first time an Omega passes by him while in heat. He doesn't like how it feels, and he doesn't know how to put that into words. He's almost afraid to say it; everyone knows he used to be a Beta. They'd tell him not to complain.

After he rescues Bucky, he smells his friend in heat for the first time. He's too embarrassed to mention that Bucky smells the same as when Steve was a Beta; he smells like iron, and Steve begins to wonder if he was wrong.

About a year after that, Bucky finally trusts him enough to let Steve help him during his heats. Steve begins to notice how he relishes in that metallic scent, how much he looks forward to it.

It scares him.

Then Bucky falls, and Steve crashes, and Steve's last thought as the icy water surrounds him is that he never told Bucky how he was right; Betas can't smell pheromones, but Alphas, even sterile Alphas, can.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Steve gets pulled from the ice, his first thought is "I should have jumped after him".

His second is "Where the hell am I?"

He is introduced to people like him; enhanced individuals, soldiers. Heroes.

Tony is an Alpha, like him. It's part of the reason they butt heads so much. Natasha and Bruce are both Betas; nobody knows what the Hulk is. Clint is an Omega, but his heats are short in length and have long dry spells, so its not too much of a problem. Thor doesn't seem to be anything, but he's also an alien, so its not that weird.

When Steve meets Sam, he laps the Beta so hard that Sam nearly trips him out of spite. He ends up being good friends with Sam.

Then there's the Winter Soldier. Steve has to take him down, he knows that, but every time he gets close to the guy something familiar bugs him. Something about the way he moves, or the way he hunts. There's something familiar about this man.

It isn't until shortly before the Winter Soldier pulls the mask off that Steve realizes it's the smell. Metallic, like iron. Like Bucky.

Then the mask comes off, and Steve shuts down. He can't deal with the fact that his best friend has been so broken apart, that he's being used as a weapon.

Events blur together, and suddenly Steve is on one of the helicarriers, standing across from the person who used to be his friend. As they fight, Steve accepts that he's going to die, because he can't kill Bucky, he just can't. Bucky has him pinned, and he says one last thing, one last ditch effort to get through.

Somehow, it works. Bucky pauses, and then the helicarrier breaks, and Steve is falling, losing consciousness almost the second he hits the water. He feels the hand around his wrist, feels the tug of someone pulling him upwards.

He doesn't know he wasn't dreaming until he wakes up in the hospital and Sam tells him where he was found on the banks of the Hudson. His friend is alive, and remembers him.

Things happen quickly after that; Steve find out about the Winter Soldier killing Tony's parents, and while Steve is worried about Tony's reaction, he tells him anyway. Tony doesn't react well, but is grateful that Steve told him about it. Eventually, Tony comes around about helping Steve find Bucky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their first big lead comes when they meet the twins. And, of course, subsequently get their asses kicked.

Pietro is a Beta, and a pain in the ass. Wanda is an Omega, but is also excellent at hiding her pheromones. They aren't added to the team until Vision is born, but once they join up, its a wonderful addition. Wanda can kick ass with her powers, and Pietro is very good at retrieval missions; they are both welcomed into the Avengers with open arms.

The Hydra facility where the twins got experimented on has plenty of information, and is also a return center point for the Winter Soldier. They return to the base to find it wiped out; agents dead in the hallways, data banks destroyed. Steve finds a bloody bandage that smells faintly of iron. He tries to ignore the nagging feeling that he's missing something obvious.

Wanda is the first to notice that there are Omega plugs in the wipe rooms. Pietro is the first to notice that several components for repair and upkeep of the Winter Soldier's arm are missing. Tony is the first to notice that none of the computers were shot, but rather destroyed by someone punching them.

Steve is the first to notice that the Winter Soldier is never seen leaving the compound. He runs through the security tapes, but he can't find anything.

They leave a note in case he comes back; "Please come home". Steve tries to shake the feeling that he never really left at all, but he can't. Three days later, Pietro checks on the facility. He sends photos of the message on the wall: NOT YET.

Steve doesn't sleep much that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They finally do find Bucky, but not in the way they expect. Steve is the only one in the Tower that night due to an injury. He's beating the shit out of one of his punching bags, and he accidently rips it open, spilling sand everywhere. For a second, all he can do is stare at the mess.

"Shit." He finally manages, panting heavily. He stalks out of the room, intending to grab a broom and dustpan.

He gets sidetracked by the familiar scent of iron. It hits him hard, and he searches room by room until he find Bucky, curled up under the covers in his bed. Bucky stares at him blearily, misery apparent in his face. After a few moments, he flips back the covers, inviting Steve to come stay with him.

Steve accepts, curling up next to his friend automatically. Bucky says nothing at first, then begins shaking, trembling as his friend holds him and plays with his hair. Once he falls asleep, Steve texts the Avengers about what happened, then tries to get up to finish cleaning up that mess. Bucky grabs his waist and mutters in his sleep, so Steve has no choice but to stay. So he does; He stays with Bucky, listening to the sound of his friend sleeping, growing intoxicated on the metallic pheromones.

"I think I love you." Steve whispers.

Suddenly, everything he's been feeling for the past several years slams into him. He's in love with his best friend, probably has been for a long time. But he can't love Bucky; he's not allowed to. They'll be hunted down, arrested or worse. He can't have Bucky, and as he contemplates all this, he starts to cry.

The Avengers say nothing when they come home to find the two tangled together, finally at peace in each others arms.

"If only they knew." Nat smirks as she silently takes pictures.

"Who the hell left this mess in my gym?" Tony whines from the other room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neither one of them says anything about their feelings until Peter joins the team. But, to be fair, neither one of them knew the rules had changed until Peter joined the team.

"Oh, shit! That pizza guy was cute!" Peter laughs awkwardly as he deposits pizza onto the counter. "I almost gave him my number".

Steve chokes on his drink, then whips his head up to look at Peter, wondering if he heard that right.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Yup! I love her so much, but if I was single..." Peter sighs wistfully. "Damn, I'd go there".

Steve is trying really hard not to stare. He knew some people back in Brooklyn who were... like that, but none of them had been this open. Steve starts to stammer something about how Peter should be careful, but Tony comes in at that moment and Steve's mouth snaps shut.

"Oooh, pizza!" Tony grabs a plate while Peter just laughs. "Did you tip the delivery guy?"

"Omg, Mr. Stark, he was sooooooo cute." Peter hops onto the counter, sitting on the edge as Tony grabs plates for everyone else. "I kinda almost dropped the tip. And the pizza".

"Wow, that nice looking, huh?" Steve chokes on his drink again, getting Tony's attention. "The hell's gotten into you?" Tony glares at Steve.

"Aren't you worried someone will overhear?" Steve is confused, and kind of worried. He doesn't need anyone investigating his life.

"Overhear wha- OOOOOOOOOOOH." Tony suddenly goes very red, like he's remembered something. Like he realizes that Steve was listening.

"Tony, I won't tell-" Steve is cut off by Tony holding up a hand. Peter looks between them, confused.

"It's not that. Has anyone told you about the Stonewall riots?"

"Wait, does he not know?" Peter bounces off the counter, eyes wide. Steve's blank look apparently tells him all he needs to know. "Oh my God, How does he not know? Who is the idiot who didn't tell him?"

"Ok, what is it I'm supposed to know that I don't?" 

"Being gay is ok now".

"Um...."

"Oh, crap, right. Different terms. I'm sorry, I meant homosexual".

The only reason they know Bucky is in the room is because he drops a glass. It shatters all over the floor, and is followed by an impressive string of Russian swears. Bucky looks up, face red. Steve beckons him over, and he haltingly makes his way over to the couch where Steve is sitting with Peter.

"Ok, so, way back in 1969, there were these riots in a gay bar called Stonewall. It was the beginning of the sexual revolution, and it paved the way for what we have now, and what we will have in the future".

"You say 'we'. Are you..." Steve trails off, embarrassed.

"Yeah, I'm bi. Bisexual." Peter frowns at Steve's still confused expression. "I'm sexually attracted to both men and women. There's also Gay, which is male homosexuals, Lesbians, which are female homosexuals, Asexuals, who don't feels sexual attraction, Aromantics, who don't feel romantic attraction, Demisexuals, who have to develop an emotional connection to have a sexual attraction, and transgender people, who were assigned a certain gender at birth but aren't that gender".

"Like me." Bruce walked into the room and grabbed a slice of pizza. "Say what you will about the gamma radiation accident, at least I don't have to wear binders anymore".

"Uhh." Is all Steve can manage. Bucky, on the other hand, is very interested.

"So, this is normal now? for boys to love boys sexually?"

"Oh, yeah. And there's a bunch more sexualities, if you want to Google those".

"Huh. So I'm not-" Bucky cuts off quickly, then smiles before continuing in a whisper. "I'm not a freak".

Steve turns bright red, and Bucky sees it. Oh God, is Steve going to freak out? What if he does? What if he loses his best friend? He never should have said anything, this was a mistake-

"So is now a bad time to mention I almost fucked Gabe?" Steve smiles awkwardly. "Because Peggy told me if it ever becomes ok, I have to tell someone".

Bucky damn near shatters his glass, and Peter is begging for answers before he can even speak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I need to ask you a question."

Bucky watches as Steve roundhouse kicks the punching bag, tearing a new hole in the battered canvas. He swears in Gaelic, which causes Bucky's eyebrows to shoot up.

Steve has a headache because Stephen, Tony's boyfriend, is in heat, and the whole freaking tower smells like oranges. And Steve freaking hates oranges. He hates how they smell, how they taste, how they look. And the whole fucking Tower reeks of them.

"Yeah. Go ahead." Steve rubs his eyes as if to push the headache out, but its not working.

Bucky takes a deep breath, then closes the door behind him. Steve does raise an eyebrow at that, because Bucky never closes the door.

Bucky feels a slow shudder roll through him, and he starts swearing internally. He had lost track of when he had last had his heat, and now he might go into heat and he was not prepared for that. Bucky swallows, then forces himself to ask the question.

"Would you go out on a date with me?"

"Yeah, sure".

"I know its- what?" Bucky stammers at the same time Steve says, "Wait, what was the question?"

"Um." Bucky rubs the back of his neck, then tries again, certain that he has Steve's full attention. "Will you go out with me?"

Steve doesn't say anything at first, and Bucky starts to panic. It took all of his courage just to get in the room, and now he felt the first pangs of his heat hitting him, and he was not ready for all this and-

"Yeah, sure. What did you have in mind?" Steve smiles at him, and it's genuine. Bucky feels like he might faint, he's so nervous.

"Are-are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious Buck. I mean, you just asked me." Steve rolls his eyes, then walks over to Bucky, the familiar scent of iron hitting his nose.

"Oh, thank God. I'm so jittery right now, I wasn't sure what I was going to do if you said no, I-" Bucky forces himself to take a deep breath, then looks up. Right at Steve's gorgeous blue eyes. "I think I'm going to pass out".

Steve chuckles, then scoops up his boyfriend and carries him to the bedroom. "I smell iron, so I figured. You need plugs?"

Bucky shakes his head, already shivering and shuddering. He makes Steve stay with him as he falls asleep, and Steve reads a book while he plays with Bucky's hair.

A few days later, they go on their first date. Its the best day of Steve's life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two years go by, and at a family dinner one day, Stephen slips a ring on Tony's finger and claims him for himself. Tony cries, because he's a sap, but the team is genuinely happy for him. It makes Bucky think.

Three week later, he's at a jewelry store looking at rings when his heat rolls through him. The Alpha behind the counter leads him to a saferoom so he can call Steve. Steve picks up on the third ring, and Bucky can hear him laughing at something stupid Sam said. It makes him feel a little bad about interrupting Steve's day.

"Yeah babe?" Steve sounds so happy, and Bucky can barely breathe. He gasps into the phone, spasms seizing his body.

"Babe?" Steve sounds worried now.

"My heat started. Can you come pick me up?" Bucky feels horrible, and he probably doesn't look much better either.

"Oh. Yeah, be right there. Where are you?"

"13th and 48th. Kay's Jewelry." Bucky gasps loudly as another shudder rolls through him. He's been spoiled by Steve taking care of him. "Please hurry".

"Ok".

Steve hangs up before Bucky can thank him, but he can tell Steve was already halfway out the door. It's another 15 minutes before Steve shows up, and its torture for Bucky. His heats don't hurt, normally, but they do make him feel really weird, and he can't really explain it. Steve opens the door to find him a shuddering mess, but thankfully he manages to calm Bucky down some.

"What were you even doing here?" Steve say as he wrestles Bucky into the passenger seat.

"Looking at rings".

"For Nat? Shit I gotta get her something." Steve hissed, having just remembered that Nat's birthday was in a few days.

"N-Yeah. Yeah, for Nat".

Steve squinted at Bucky. That was a lie, and Steve wasn't quite sure why Bucky would be lying to him about looking at rin-

Oh.

OH.

Steve blushes as he brushes Bucky's hair out of his face. The brunet leans into the action, nuzzling Steve's hand as the blond smiles at him.

"So, is now a bad time to mention that I was going to propose to you at dinner?" Steve whispers. Bucky looks at him, shocked, and Steve holds up a gold ring with a silver line in the middle. Bucky closes his eyes in exasperation.

"Remind me to slap you when I can move again".

"I take it that means yes?"

"Of course it means yes, you stupid punk." Bucky makes a half-assed attempt at smacking Steve, but only manages to ruffle his hair. "Now, get me home".

"Ok." Steve chuckles as he makes his way to the driver's side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Their wedding was planned around Bucky's heats, which was a bit annoying because he had his heats monthly. They did manage to pin down a date, which would have been fine if it wasn't two days before Bucky's next supposed heat. 

"I just don't think it's a good idea to push it that close." Steve was saying. Bucky rolled his eyes, glaring at Steve.

"Its two days! I'll be fine! I mean, honestly, Steven, do you really think so little of me?"

"Babe, not to be the bad guy, but you can barely stand during your heats. If it hits during the wedding-"

"I'll be fine!" Bucky snaps. Steve looks a little taken aback, and Bucky has to take a few deep breaths before continuing. "Just, have a little faith in me, babe?"

Steve huffs, then decides to let it go.

"Alright".

Bucky thought he had won the argument. The day of his wedding, he woke up feeling amazing. He had breakfast, got dressed, and was bending over to tie his shoes when it hit him.

God.

Fucking.

Damnit.

He got his heat. On his wedding day. God fucking damnit.

He pushed himself up, forced himself through the urge to lie down and simply go numb.

Except that urge turned into pain. Extreme, bone deep pain.

He wasn't sure how he made it to the alter, but once he got up there he did relax a little. This next part was just holding still. He could do that. He could hold still for the next hour or so.

Steve kept giving him looks out of the corner of his eye, and Bucky knew he knew. Goddamnit. He was never going to live this down. Bucky managed to recite his vows without keeling over, then gave Steve a smug look. Two seconds later he decided that was the wrong move. Steve gave him a wicked grin, the kind he used to get when he was going to cause trouble for the sake of causing trouble.

"James Buchanan Barnes. Bucky. My better half, my best friend, my stupid jerk." Steve referenced the long running joke between them, and Bucky actually did laugh. "I have two things to say to you. One, My loyalty to you is steadfast and undying in all its aspects. As sure as the sun rises, I will stand with through everything. I don't deserve you, but I got you, and I thank God every day for it".

He paused, and Bucky made a mental note to cuss him out later.

"What was the second thing?" Bucky says, as expected of him

"I fucking told you so".

Bucky tries really hard to contain his laughter. He really does. But he's tried, and Steve is right, and it'll just be easier to laugh at himself now and deal with it later.

"I know." Bucky whispers.

Somehow, they get all the way to the end without incident, and Bucky even manages to make it through dinner without passing out. But the first thing he does when they get to the honeymoon suite is smack Steve over the head with a pillow.

"Punk!"

"I fucking told you so!" Steve laughs as Bucky collapses onto the bed.

"Hey, Rogers? Shaddup." Bucky smiles as he undoes his jacket, letting it fall to the floor as Steve appears over him. His blond punk smiles at him, and Bucky's heart swells, looking at his husband. His *husband*. He never would have thought, all the way back on the night of his first heat, that he would ever think, let alone say those words.

"Can I get you anything?" Steve whispers, teasing his husband. God, he's actually married to Bucky. He never would have thought this possible.

"Ginger ale." Bucky pushes Steve's messy hair out of his face, smiling. "And then I want you to fuck me until I can't remember my own name".

The best thing about Steve agreeing is that Bucky knows he'll do exactly that.


	2. Count to Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nine months after they get married, Bucky and Steve lay eyes on their daughter for the first time. They both struggle with the idea of parenthood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this is the chapter where Bucky gets pregnant. I'm doing my best here, so please be patient. Thank you!

*Count to ten for me, doll. Come on, breathe. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Good. Breathe, in, out, in, out, in... out.*

*1*

The first thing that tipped him off was that he didn't get his heat that month. He didn't think that much of it, until he started getting sick. He woke up one morning, wobbled to the bathroom, and immediately stuck his head in the toilet bowl, retching. It wouldn't have been that bad if it didn't keep happening. Two weeks later, Steve caught him, and he begged Bucky to go talk to Bruce. Bucky put it off for about a week, then was finally too miserable to say no. Bruce drew blood, and then the Avengers went on a mission for a week, so Bucky stole Dramamine from Nat and prayed for it to stop.

*2*

His heat didn't come that month either, but as he sat down with Bruce, he noticed the way that the doctor was looking at him. It made him nervous.

Then those two words came out of Bruce's mouth, and Bucky forgot how to speak.

"Do you want to get Steve?" Bruce looked worried, and Bucky's hand slowly slid over his stomach, shock numbing his mind.

"Pregnant." Bucky whispered, and his world imploded. Emotion suddenly slammed into him, and a billion thoughts invaded his head? What would they be like? Would they have enhanced qualities because of the serum? Would they be a boy, a girl? What if they got hurt? What if he hurt them? Oh, God forbid, what if Hydra got hold of him again?

"Buck." Steve's voice filtered through the noise in his head, and as he looked up at his husband, tears blossomed in his eyes. He grabbed Steve's waist, sobbing.

Steve panicked. What was wrong with Bucky? Was he hurt? Sick? Was it something Hydra-related? If those assholes did something to his Bucky...

"I'm pregnant." Bucky mutters, and Steve's mind turns to mush. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that. He took a solid thirty seconds to process before promptly bursting into tears, a smile spreading over his face.

"Are-are you sure?"

"According to Dr. Banner, I'm two months in".

Steve blushed, still grinning like an idiot.

"Our wedding night." He whispers. Bucky nods, then slugs Steve in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Steve whips his head up to see Bucky glowering at him.

"You're the reason I've been sticking my head in the toilet bowl every morning for the past four weeks!"

"Well, don't hit me!" Steve starts laughing as Bucky starts crying again, tears welling up in his eyes anew. "I can't help it that you're horny as fuck".

That earns him a smack over the head with the pillow on the exam table. He's laughing the entire time, and soon Bucky's laughing, too, happier than he's ever been.

*3*

He starts to show halfway through his third month. It's little things, like how a certain pair of pants won't fit him anymore or how his stomach hangs over his belt just a little.

Which, given how often he's throwing up and how little he's eating, is kind of a surprise.

"Babe, please. You need to eat something." Steve pleads with him, but he won't eat, not that at least.

"It has zucchini in it. I hate zucchini." Bucky whines.

Steve does that thing where he wrinkles his nose cuz he thinks someone's lying to him, and Bucky smacks him over the head with a pillow.

"Babe, I literally made this exact soup last week and you said you loved it".

"Well, now I don't. I can't help that".

"You are impossible".

Steve gets up from his position next to the couch and wanders into the kitchen, groaning. Stephen comes in at that exact moment, holding Baby Morgan. Stephen takes one look at Bucky's bowl of soup and immediately chuckles. Steve, who is fucking exhausted, glares at him.

"You think this is funny?"

"I think if you asked for help, this would be a lot easier".

Stephen grabs the bowl of soup from Steve and waltzes over to the couch. Bucky immediately turns his nose up at the soup, but Stephen does this thing and suddenly Bucky feels bad. Guilty.

"What?"

"I know you're not hungry, but you're sharing your body right now, and I know you'd hate for your little one to go hungry." Stephen lowers the bowl of soup to Bucky's level, smiling kindly. "If you won't eat for you, at least make sure your baby gets enough".

That was the wrong thing to say, because Bucky instantly bursts into tears, sobbing about he's been starving his baby and he's a horrible father. Morgan gets scared by Bucky's crying and starts whining herself. Steve nearly breaks his leg trying to get over to his husband, who is just not having a good day. After about half an hour of incoherent sobbing, Bucky starts to calm down, runny nose and puffy eyes betraying his emotions to everyone who enters the room.

It's not until about fifteen minutes later that Bucky actually takes his first bite of soup. To Steve's credit, it is pretty good.

He still hates zucchini though.

*4*

"You want what?"

Bucky blushes a deep red, a kick from their baby momentarily distracting him.

"I want-"

"I heard you the first time, I'm just shocked. You hate pickles." Steve searches Bucky's face for answers, but Bucky doesn't have any. He's just as confused as Steve.

"I know." Bucky frowns. "But I still want them".

"Well, ok. If you're sure".

Bucky wants something else too, but he's not going to ask for that. He's not, he's not, he's n-

"Babe?" Bucky internally curses at himself. Godamnit. "Can you get something else too?"

"Yeah, what?" 

Bucky blushes, then mutters under his breath. Steve's fairly certain he knows what Bucky said, but he's not sure.

"Speak up, babe?"

"I said can you pick up zucchini?"

Steve really does try to hold back his laughter. No, that's a lie, he absolutely doesn't. He cracks up, and as a result suffers numerous well aimed pillow attacks. Bucky is bright red, swearing like they're back in Brooklyn, and Steve just can't stop laughing.

"I hate you. Forget I asked".

"No, I'll get them. I'll get them. It's just..." Steve snickers under his breathe, and Bucky starts to get up, pillow in hand.

"I will hit you, Rogers. Go get my food".

"Ok, Buck." Steve laughs the entire way to the store, even meets Sam there.

"Pickles? I thought you hated pickles." Sam says as he walks up to Steve.

"They're for Bucky".

"Oooooh." Sam smirks, then claps Steve on the shoulder. "Have fun with that".

The embarrassing part is that Sam tells Bucky how he burst out laughing when the cashier asked for a price check on zucchini. Steve ends up sleeping on the couch that night.

*5*

Bucky can't stop crying and he doesn't know why.

It just started when he was doing chores, just hit him like that. He had to sit down, he felt so overwhelmingly sad. Now he was crying, and Steve was at the VA with Sam, and Natasha was on a mission with Bruce and Tony, and Pietro was helping Wanda through her heat, so he was alone.

Well, almost. Stephen walked in on him staring out the window and crying. He took a position opposite Bucky, ignoring the withering glare that Bucky gave him. Neither one of them said anything for a while, just sat in silence.

"What's wrong with me?" Bucky finally sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"There's nothing wrong with you. It's the hormones".

"I'm crying for no reason!"

"You're pregnant. You are literally building a baby inside of you. You're not crying for no reason, you're crying because you're body is out of whack".

"I don't like it." Bucky whines.

"You don't have to like it, you just have to put up with it. I was the same way when I was pregnant with Morgan. Worse, if I'm honest".

"The hell you were".

"I'm serious." Stephen chuckles, rising and walking into the kitchen to do something. "I remember one night, I got so mad at Tony for absolutely no reason. It was something small, like he didn't put his plate in the dishwasher or something like that. And I just... exploded on him. I was screaming at him so loudly I'm pretty sure they heard us in China".

Bucky chuckles at that; he does remember that during one week of Stephen's pregnancy, Tony had to sleep on their couch for three nights. When Steve asked why, Tony had responded "I actually don't know. I don't remember doing anything that would piss him off".

"I banished him from our bedroom for the next three days".

"I know. He took our couch." Bucky smiles at the memory, but he doesn't actually feel happy, it's more of an automatic response.

"Oh, so that's where he went. I wondered. At least he wasn't in the lab".

"He stopped doing that once you got pregnant. He said he wanted to kick the habit before the kid came out".

"Hm." Stephen smiles, appreciation for his husband flooding him. "My point is, you're hormonal. What you are feeling is perfectly normal, and you shouldn't beat yourself up about it".

"Hm." Bucky shrugs noncommittally. About three minutes later, Stephen brings him a cup of tea, and Bucky looks at it, suspicious.

"It's chamomile. It'll calm you down." Stephen gestures to the cup in Bucky's hands. "Try it".

The tea does calm him down, but it also makes him need to pee really bad, so he doesn't take seconds.

When Steve gets home from the VA, Bucky's crying again, but he doesn't feel as bad this time around. Steve, on the other hand, is freaking out. Did something happen while he was gone?

"Babe? You ok?"

"I'm fine. Just hormonal".

Steve has to spend about half a day talking with Tony to actually figure out what that means.

*6*

Bucky waddles to the bathroom, a hand placed on his swollen stomach. The worst part of being pregnant, he decided, was needing to get up every two hours to pee.

On the way back to bed, he felt his legs shaking. He leans with his back against the door, trying to get his bearings. His head was killing him.

The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the medical bay, Steve holding his hand and crying. Bucky turned his head blearily, dizzy as hell.

"Stevie? What's wrong?" The words felt wrong in his mouth, and he saw how Steve's head snapped up, how his whole body went rigid before registering that it was Bucky who spoke.

"Bucky?" Steve's voice trembles, and Bucky can tell he's tired and scared. He smiles weakly, squeezing Steve's hand lightly.

"I'm here. What happened?"

"You just... collapsed. I saw you leaning against the door, and then you just fell. Scared the living shit out of me." Steve leans over and rubs Bucky's cheek with his thumb, a familiar action that makes him smile. "Please don't ever do that again".

"Until we know what happened, no promises." Bucky jokes, then tries to prop himself up on his elbows before he remembers his front load and decides that's a bad idea.

"Oh, he's awake!" Bruce stammers as he bolts over to Bucky's bed. "How you feeling?"

"Like someone took a pillowcase full of bricks to the inside of my skull." Bucky groans, his headache more prominent now.

"Ah. Anything else? Dizziness, chest pain, trouble breathing?"

"Um, just a little dizzy. Why?" Bucky suddenly feels panicked. "Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, no. I'd have to do more tests, but it is my professional opinion that you have mild anemia. It's rather common with pregnancy, so I can't say I'm surprised, but I am sentencing you to absolute bed rest for the next few days. You get up to use the bathroom or if the house is on fire, and for no other reason, you understand me?"

"I'm not an invalid, Bruce." Bucky scoffs. Steve glares at him, and Bucky swats his arm. "Oh, stop. It's not like you weren't the exact same way when you got sick".

"I'm serious. Anemia can be a serious danger to both you and the baby if it isn't treated properly. I'll have to draft a treatment that takes the serum into account, but until I have something solid, you stay in bed." Bruce goes a little green when he looks at Bucky, and Bucky decides it will be a good idea to just agree with it for now.

Steve pampers him like crazy for the next few days, and he has to make a few changes to his diet, but other than that he's fine. He does get dizzy every once in a while, and will have to sit down for a minute or two, but he never loses consciousness again, thankfully.

Later he finds out that anemia is common in pregnancy because babies are greedy little shits that take all of the body's resources for themselves. Bucky can't express how happy he is to evidence that his child is healthy, even at the expense of his own health.

He supposes that's what being a parent is.

*7*

"Oh, God! Stevie, you're a saint".

Bucky is sitting backwards on a chair so Steve can rub his back, and its the best decision he's made in a long time. His stomach is swollen and round, and his back has been killing him lately. Steve offered to give him a massage, and Bucky gestured to his swollen belly, giving Steve an eyebrow of questioning. Steve suggested the chair, and here they were.

"It's been bugging you that much, huh?" Steve chuckles as he presses the heels of his palms into Bucky's back, feeling him arch at his touch.

"I swear to God, if I wasn't seven months pregnant, I would fuck you right this instant".

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Steve smiles as Bucky begins to relax. 

Bucky feels his eyelids slipping, but he doesn't want to fall asleep, so he fights against the heavy pull of sleep. His eyelids droop once, twice, three times-

He wakes up in Steve's arms, his husband carrying him to their bedroom. He doesn't question it; he just goes back to sleep. It's been a long day, and he's so ready to go to bed. He lets himself be carried away, by sleep and by his favorite blond.

Steve, for his part, dotes on his partner endlessly. Bucky is his partner, his husband, his Omega, and he has a responsibility to uphold. He gets Bucky into bed, playing with his hair as he slips deeper into dreams.

Steve's not exactly sure when he falls asleep, but he's awakened by the scent of oranges. The filters in the Tower must be broken again. Damn.

"Friday, can you get Tony for me?" Steve asks the AI.

"I'm sorry, Captain Rogers, but Mr. Stark is attending to Dr. Strange and has requested to not be bothered. May I assist you instead?"

"No thank, Fri." Steve smiles at the ceiling, even though Friday can't actually see him. "I just- It's nothing".

Steve tries to go back to sleep, but the goddamn scent of oranges is clinging to him, and he can't shake it. It's giving him a little bit of a headache, and he doesn't want to have a headache, because he was having a good day. He distracts himself by playing with Bucky's hair, and laying a hand on Bucky's stomach. Their child is in there; he still can't fully wrap his head around that.

"I'm going to be a dad." Steve whispers, and he breaks out into an idiot-like grin. Then the full force of what he said hits him, and he sobers up. "I'm going to be a dad".

What if he messes up? What if he does something wrong? What if his kid hates him? What if he's a horrible parent? What if-

Steve doesn't let himself finish that thought. He can't. He can't even begin to think about that.

Bucky wakes up and feels pressure on his stomach, so he turns to face Steve and finds the blond staring at the bedsheets like he's trying to burn a hole in them. Bucky takes his hand, startling him.

"Hey. What are you thinking about?"

Steve stammers, going red in the face.

"I- Um- Well-"

"Was it something nasty? Are you scared to tell me?" Bucky teases. Steve mutters something about him being impossible, but Bucky just laughs.

"But seriously, what are you thinking?"

"We're gonna be dads".

"Obviously." Bucky snorts.

"That doesn't terrify you?"

"Why would that- OH." Bucky sobers almost immediately. "You got to thinkin', didn't you?"

Steve nods, then looks at Bucky with terror in his eyes. Bucky smiles patiently, having experienced all of these emotions for himself five months ago. He listens as Steve worries and voices his concerns.

All but one.

They don't talk about that one. They don't have to. They both know that they should, but they also know worrying about that one won't do any good.

It doesn't stop either one of them from having nightmares.

*8*

Bucky wakes up from his nap and waddles into the kitchen, wearing a loose gown that Steve got him when he started complaining about pants. He did not expect that they had company over, which is why he accidently broke a glass when he heard Sam ask him where he got that butt-ugly dress he was wearing.

"Jesus!" Bucky yelps as he shatters the glass. Steve starts laughing, and Bucky narrows his eyes at him.

"You are on thin ice".

"What did I do?!"

"You woke me from my nap. Give me one good reason why I should share the bed tonight".

"I'll give you a foot rub later".

"Deal".

Bucky waddles over to Steve, sitting next to him as Steve talks to Sam. They're chatting about something that happened at the VA, and Bucky is sitting there, listening to his blond dork laugh and enjoy himself.

When he opens his eyes, he knows something's wrong.

"Babe." Bucky tugs on Steve's sleeve, an undertone of panic distinct in his voice. "How long was I out?"

"Couple minutes, maybe? Did I wake you?" Steve shifts to look at Bucky, who looks terrified.

"I wasn't asleep".

"Ok, because I believe that".

"No, Steve. I. Wasn't. Asleep." Bucky says each word separately to get the point across. Steve looks confused at first, then understanding blossoms in his features, quickly followed by panic.

"I'll call Bruce." Steve says as he gets up quickly, barely restrained panic in his movements. Bucky forces himself to take a few deep breaths. It's probably anemia, he tells himself. It's probably just anemia. He's probably fine.

"What is all that about?" Sam asks Bucky. 

"I had- have- anemia. I think I just lost a few minutes because of it, but I'm not sure. I just know something is wrong".

"Huh. Are you going to be ok?"

"It's not me I'm worried about".

That shuts Sam up pretty quick, and Bucky almost wishes he hadn't said it, because with that one sentence, he's invited in the thought he refuses to think about. He doesn't want to think about it, and yet it won't leave.

What if something goes wrong? What if the baby gets hurt? What if-

"Stop it!" Bucky yells, grabbing his head and panting heavily. "Shut up shut up SHUT UP!"

"Babe?" Steve comes running back into the room, and Bucky is already heaving sobs, clutching at the child he can't hold yet. Steve taps his shoulder, hugs his husband, tries to calm him down. "Breathe, babe. Breathe. It's gonna be ok. We're going up to Bruce's level, ok? Do you think you can do that?"

"What if we lose the baby?" Bucky hiccups, tears streaming down his face. Steve allows himself a brief second of panic, then forces himself to calm down.

"That's not going to happen. We're going to go see Bruce now, ok?"

Bucky nods, then stands shakily. He only manages two steps before he collapses to the floor, hitting his head on the way down.

"Steve!" Sam shouts, and Steve whirls back around to see his husband passed out on the floor, his husband, his partner, his Bucky-

He's not sure how he got Bucky to the lab, or how he managed to stay together long enough to hear Bruce tell him that Bucky was likely going to be out until the next day, but the second Bruce left the room, he fell apart. Tears filled his eyes, and he sat on the floor next to Bucky's bed, sobbing quietly.

Three hours later, Bruce asked him about Bucky's ankle.

"What about it?" Steve said, not really paying attention.

"Well, his left ankle is swollen. More than it should be, I mean. And I was wondering if he had tripped recently?"

Steve had to think about that; he shook his head, uncertain.

"I don't think so. Oh! He tripped on the rug in the bathroom a week ago".

"No, it's newer than that." Bruce frowned, thinking. "It had to have been at some point in the last 6 hours. It's too fresh to be from anything else".

"No, I don't think so. He would have told me".

"Hm. Interesting".

Steve knits his eyebrows together, tired and confused.

"Why is that interesting?"

"How did you say you found him?" Bruce asks, inspecting the ankle in question.

"Wha- after he fell?" Steve watches as Bruce nods, then hisses through his teeth. "On his side. Why?"

"I think he twisted his ankle on the way down. Broke his fall that way. It's also probably how he knocked himself out".

"But that would mean..." Steve had to think about that. It would mean that Bucky intentionally braced himself in such a way that he would fall on his side. It would mean that Bucky pushed past his own human nature to protect the baby. It would mean that his husband his head in an entirely preventable way because he didn't want to risk hurting their child.

Steve had never been more in love with Bucky before in his life. And when Bucky woke up, he made sure to tell him so.

Bucky complained that the only bad part was that he was sentenced to a wheelchair for the rest of his pregnancy. Steve laughed at him, but they were both grateful he was ok.

*9*

Bucky was watching Morgan when he felt a weird twinge in his stomach.

No, not his stomach. His uterus. He felt himself pale, and he moved to set Morgan down on the carpet, despite her protests.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but your uncle Bucky needs to talk to your uncle Steve real quick, ok?" Bucky said as he rolled his wheelchair in the direction of the common room, laughter echoing down the hallway.

He barely made it to the door before he felt that twinge turn into a painful spasm that left him gasping for air.

"STEVEN!" He called, and as he heard chatter cease in the other room, he felt something warm spreading from between his legs. Did he just piss himself?

The spasm happened again, sharper this time, and a word flared to life in his mind; *Contractions*.

"Buck? Are you ok?" Steve saw Bucky struggling to catch a breath at the end of the hallway, saw the dark stain on his clothes, and put two and two together.

"Contractions?" Steve asked, and saw Bucky nod weakly as he approached. "Ok. Let me get Bruce..."

"Just- AH!" Bucky clutched at his stomach as the contractions started ripping into him. He felt rather than saw Steve panicking, and forced himself to take deep, even breaths.

Now he was drugged out of his mind on an operating table, trying to do the same thing.

"Count to ten for me, doll." Steve was saying. Bucky counted; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. "Good. Breath, in, out, in, out, in... out".

Bucky forced himself to breathe. Then he felt Bruce cut into him, and he gripped Steve's hand so hard he heard something snap.

For the next twenty minutes, he forced himself to count to ten again. and again. and again.

Then it was over. He wasn't sure how, but the pain stopped, and suddenly he could see clearly. Well, as clearly as he could considering he was on a shit ton of medication.

He heard the first piercing cry of his child, their child, and he heard Steve's quivering gasp. For a brief second, he was worried.

"She's beautiful." Steve gasped again, and Bucky's heart simultaneously broke and swelled. He tilted his head to see his husband holding a little bundle, smiling like he just saw color for the first time. Bucky muttered for Steve to bring her over, but it probably came out all slurred.

Steve brought her over anyway, and Bucky burst into tears at the sight of her. She had whispy blonde hair, storm grey eyes, and she was wailing at the top of her lungs, and Bucky had never seen something more beautiful. Steve was saying something about how her eyes would get darker as she got older, but Bucky wasn't listening. He was captivated by how small she was, how perfect.

"She looks like your ma." Bucky whispers, and though he isn't sure if Steve heard him, he notices how Steve sits up a little straighter at those words.

"What do you want to name her?" Bruce asks, and when Bucky looks at Steve, he knows that they are both going to have the same answer.

"Sarah." They both say in unison.

And as Bucky fades out of consciousness, he reflects on the last nine months of backaches, headaches, hormonal outbursts, and general misery. He thinks about how he got those weird cravings(pickles. he fucking hates pickles, why did he want pickles?), how he would just feel sad for no reason, how he was anemic, and bedbound, and completely dependent on Steve. He thinks about how his ankles were swollen and how he never got enough sleep and how he always had to pee. He thinks about all this as Steve leans over and asks "Would you do it again?"

And all Bucky can say is "In a heartbeat".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you want me to continue this as a series


	3. Her Stormy Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby Sarah is more disruptive than her dads bargained for, but it's all worth it. As she gets older, more and more effects of the serum and their alterings become clear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, this was supposed to go up next week but I literally won't be able to sleep until I get it out so here

_When did you start noticing? ~~ At around two months... ___

__~2 months~  
It was a quarter after one when Bucky woke up to crying._ _

__He moaned, then sat up blearily, blinking at the clock. From the other side of the room, Sarah whined, growing louder the longer she went without attention._ _

__"I'm coming, I'm coming sweetheart." Bucky wobbled as he got up, his small but obvious breasts jiggling when he stood too fast. "Mmm, I'm coming"._ _

__Sarah quieted, then broke into an all out wail. Steve shifted in his sleep, moaning slightly as he started to wake up._ _

__"Buck?" He muttered._ _

__"I'm taking care of it"._ _

__"You sure?"_ _

__"Yeah, I'm already up"._ _

__Bucky wobbled over to Sarah's crib, picking her up as she whined loudly. Soon, she began to quiet, but when Bucky tried to put her down, she started up again._ _

__"Babygirl, I love you, but it is too fucking early for this." Bucky sighed as he wandered around the room with Sarah in his arms, trying to get her to fall asleep._ _

__That had been an hour ago. Now, Bucky was sitting in the common room, trying not to pass out as Sarah clung to his breasts. He started awake several times, blinking harshly at nothing as he tried not to fall asleep._ _

__Bucky was no stranger to sleepless nights, but it was something else entirely to go so long with so little sleep. Normally, staying awake with this little sleep for this long would have resulted in him crashing hard, but Sarah wasn't having any of that._ _

__"You are going to be the death of me, солнышко[sunshine]." Bucky whispered to a now quiet Sarah. Sarah was much to engaged in her meal to respond, but Bucky knew that she understood him in some manner. She was smart; it showed in her eyes._ _

__"I love you, but I'm tired, and because I'm human, that also makes me a little crabby, so bear with me, ok солнышко?" Bucky smiled wanly at his daughter, whose eyes were finally slipping closed. Bucky breathed a sigh of relief, then took Sarah back to the bedroom and put her down in the crib, mentally cheering when she didn't fuss. He crawled back into bed, exhausted._ _

__Two hours later, he was again woken up by crying._ _

__*Are you fucking kidding me?* he thought as he sat up blearily. *I just did this*._ _

__He pushed his eyes open, seeing a shadow over the crib. Instantly, he was awake, because if ~anyone~ tried to touch his daughter..._ _

__The crying stopped as a familiar voice said, "Oh, you just want attention don't you?"_ _

__*Steve* Bucky thought, relief flooding him._ _

__"Hush up now, you need to let your dad sleep, ok sweetpea?"_ _

__Steve almost didn't notice Bucky falling backwards onto the bed, exhausted._ _

__Almost._ _

__"See, you wore him out." Steve smiled at the gorgeous little girl with the storm grey eyes as he walked over to his husband, pulling the sheets over his sleeping form. "So you better be nice to me, because he's not going to be awake for a while yet"._ _

__Sarah made a noise, almost like babbling, but it couldn't be babbling because she was only two months old._ _

__*The serum does weird things to you* Steve thought. *Nothing's off the table yet*._ _

__Sarah made the noise again, then grabbed Steve's shirt, tugging slightly. Steve smiled at her, then wandered out of the room._ _

__"Why don't we grab some lawn chairs and go up to the roof? Your dad always likes that when he can't sleep"._ _

__Sarah made another babbling noise, flailing her arms. She looked at Steve, then gave him something like a smile. He smiled back, gazing at his beautiful daughter._ _

__"What did I do to deserve you?" He whispers as he steps into the elevator, absolutely taken with this small thing that is his daughter._ _

__They go up to the roof, and Steve grabbed a lawn chair from the shed next to the elevator, laying it out as he sings quietly to Sarah in Gaelic, the language his mother taught him. The words are rusty in his mouth, but he still speaks clearly, and the more he does it, the easier it gets. Eventually, he starts singing a translation of "Amazing Grace", his favorite hymn. Sarah blabbers along, and Steve smiles, noticing not for the first time how smart his daughter is._ _

__They fall asleep on the roof, and its a good twelve hours before anyone comes looking for them, mostly because Bucky didn't wake up until then._ _

__~6 months~  
"Sarah, say 'Daddy'." Bucky coaxes. _ _

__"Dah!"_ _

__"Daddy"._ _

__"Dah!"_ _

__"Dad-ee"._ _

__"Dah...di!"_ _

__"Daddy"._ _

__"Dahdi!"_ _

__"Whose your favorite?"_ _

__"Papa!" Sarah giggles as she throws her hands up. Bucky sits back, exasperated._ _

__"I told you she's not going to do it." Steve chuckles as he walks in the room, hamburger in hand. Bucky just groans._ _

__"What did I do to get on her bad side?" Bucky complains, then blinks when Sarah throws a Spaghetti-o at him. "Blarg, you got me!"_ _

__Bucky makes a big show of falling over and flailing his arms, which gets him a lot of laughs from Sarah and a narrow eyed squint from Steve._ _

__"Are you the reason she throws her food at everything?"_ _

__"Maybe?"_ _

__"Oh my God, Buck!" Steve tries not to laugh, but its not really working. "You are the wor-"_ _

__Steve cuts off at the exact same time Sarah stops laughing. Bucky is a little worried at first, but he maintains composure._ _

__"Babe?"_ _

__"You're emitting. Go change before you can't move anymore." Steve points to their bedroom as Sarah grabs her nose and yells "Yuck!"_ _

__"Huh." Bucky almost makes it to their bedroom, but not quite, so he has to let Steve change him and also attend to Sarah. "Heats are so annoying"._ _

__"Do you think she's an Alpha?" Steve asks, watching as Sarah grabs her nose and shakes her head; a combination of "no" and "smelly", she conveys quite clearly that she doesn't like Bucky's pheromones._ _

__"No, I think she's just sensitive. Like you were"._ _

__"Huh. I guess that could be it..."_ _

__"What?"_ _

__"So you know how there was that myth that sterile Alphas can't smell pheromones?"_ _

__"Yeah, and it's full of bunk..."_ _

__"Well, there was another myth, one treated as fact, about how there was no such thing as a sterile Alpha..."_ _

__"...You weren't actually a Beta, were you?"_ _

__"No, I don't think so"._ _

__"Huh..." Bucky lays down, his heat suddenly slamming its full force into him, splaying him flat on the bed. "Stevie..."_ _

__"No. Sarah is here." Was the immediate response. "Besides, we don't have condoms. Unless you're ready for another kid?"_ _

__"Fucker." Bucky mutters under his breath._ _

__"FUCK!" Sarah shouts._ _

__"No, sweetheart, that's a no-no word"._ _

__"Okiie!"_ _

__Bucky laughs at his daughter until it hurts._ _

__~10 months~_ _

__"She does what?" Bruce asked, looking up from where Sarah was lying patiently on the exam table._ _

__"She'll just... escape, I guess is the right word." Steve shrugs, then gives Bruce a concerned look. "Why, should we be nervous?"_ _

__"No, it's just babies aren't usually that far advanced..." Bruce grabs something from the corner of his desk, then hands it to Sarah. "Solve this for me, sweetie?"_ _

__Sarah sits up and takes the puzzle, playing with it as Bruce turns to Steve._ _

__"I think that the serum had some effects on her cognitive development. Which, of course, we were expecting, but I also think it goes farther than that. I think..."_ _

__Bruce cuts off as Sarah loudly exclaims, "Done!"._ _

__"Very good, sweetheart, put that off to the side for me, okay?" Bruce turns back to Steve. "I think that her intelligence has a genetic factor, but I also think her adaptation does as well. The serum made you both better at changing to fit your surroundings, right?"_ _

__"In a sense, yes." Steve agrees, then throws a chocolate at Sarah. It lands in her lap, distracting her from completely disassembling the puzzle Bruce gave her. "Don't take that apart, sweetpea"._ _

__"Well, I think that she takes that aspect of her intelligence and applies it to most of her surrounding life. She took a tool she didn't know she had and she used it the exact way it was meant to be used; She took parts that weren't meant to work together and made them work"._ _

__"Well, tell me something I don't know"._ _

__"When did you start noticing?"_ _

__"At around two months"._ _

__"Fuck, that early? And you didn't say anything?"_ _

__"Like you said, the serum was probably going to leave her with enhancements, so we didn't think too much of it until she started talking"._ _

__When did she start talking?"_ _

__"4 and 1/2 months. But that part seems to be developing normally"._ _

__"No, actually, she has the speech capacity of a five year old. She can use simple words to make moderately complex phrases, but chooses not to most of the time"._ _

__"Huh. So she can..."_ _

__"Take your time." Bruce smiles, grabbing the puzzle and inspecting it. "Sarah, please don't take my things apart. Then I have to ask your uncle Tony for help, and he's a pain"._ _

__"Dushbag." Sarah says confidently._ _

__"Sarah. No-no word." Steve says quickly._ _

__"Dushbag?"_ _

__"Yes, Sarah, that's a no-no word"._ _

__"Oh. Butthole?"_ _

__"I'm going to kill Clint..." Steve mutters into his hands_ _

__~1 year and 2 months~_ _

__"Morgan! Hi!" Sarah waves at the two year old, giggling when Morgan waves back. "Hi!"_ _

__"Sarah, солнышко, she's right there, no need to shout." Bucky laughs as he pulls a casserole out of the oven. It's a good one, with broccoli and cheese._ _

__Except one whiff of the stuff has Bucky on the floor, retching. He doesn't even dislike the smell, it's just so strong..._ _

__"Daddy?" Sarah's voice quivers, and when Bucky doesn't respond, she gets louder; "DADDY!"_ _

__No response again; Bucky feels so sick he can hardly keep his eyes open._ _

__"PAPA!" Sarah shouts, obviously crying. "PAPAAAAAAA!"_ _

__Steve comes running into the room a few seconds later._ _

__"Babydoll, what's wrong?" He pauses as he sees Bucky on the floor, retching. "Fuck!"_ _

__Bucky ends up collapsing into Steve, who carries him to the Medbay. When they come back, they are both excited._ _

__"Sarah, honey, you're going to be a big sister!" Steve smiles at her as Bucky picks her up, twirling her above his head._ _

__"Huh?"_ _

__"You're going to have a little sibling! Either a boy or a girl, we can't tell yet"._ _

__"Huh? Like Morgan?"_ _

__"No, солнышко, Morgan is your cousin. Like how your Uncle Pietro and your Auntie Wanda are, that's what's going to happen." Bucky smiles at her, beaming with pride. "You have to be the best big sister in the whole world, ok?"_ _

__"Ok!" Sarah smiles, still not quite understanding._ _

__Two months later, it doesn't matter anymore._ _

__~1 year and 6 months~_ _

__"Why are you sad, Daddy?"_ _

__Bucky is staring out the window, tears rolling down his cheeks. He turns to look at Sarah, his beautiful, his only._ _

__"I'm not sad, солнышко. I still have leftover yuckies in my body from when your brother was in there, and they're making me cry"._ _

__"Uncle Tony says that's called a 'miss carriage', but you're not a miss"._ _

__"No, baby, I'm not. That's what it's called when the baby doesn't... When the baby dies before it's born"._ _

__"Oh. Is that what happened to him?"_ _

__"Yes, honey"._ _

__"Does it make you sad?"_ _

__"A little." Bucky smiles at her through tears, and beckons her over. She runs too fast, tripping on the rug in her little one year old body, too tall and too big for her age. Sarah crawls into his lap, sitting there quietly._ _

__"Is Papa sad about the baby?" Sarah asks after a while._ _

__"I think he's a little sad, but it's easier for him. The baby was never really alive for him, so it's harder for him to understand why it hurts me"._ _

__"Why does it hurt you?"_ _

__"Because I was building it inside me, and when it died- When he died, I felt it. And it scared me an awful lot, because I've never felt anything like that before"._ _

__"Oh. Is it going to stop hurting?"_ _

__"Someday. But not today, so be patient with me, ok солнышко?"_ _

__"Ok Daddy"._ _

__~1 year and 10 months~_ _

__"Uncle Stephen is pregnant?"_ _

__"M-hm. Morgan is gonna be a big sister." Steve says, swiping chopped bell peppers into the soup pot._ _

__"Like I was supposed to be?"_ _

__"Yeah, kind of. Your brother... He wasn't healthy. If he had made it until he was ready to be born, we could have fixed it, but he didn't. We still don't know why he did that, or what it means for you, but we're working on getting answers, ok?"_ _

__"Is that why you're making Daddy 'get better' soup?"_ _

__"Kind of. Your daddy... a lot of bad things happened to him, so I'm not surprised this hit him as hard as it did. But he's getting better, he just had a bad day today"._ _

__"Promise?"_ _

__"Promise. Why don't you go check on him?"_ _

__"Ok!" Sarah shoots to her feet and rushes into the bedroom, where Daddy is, jumping on the bed and startling him. "Hi, Daddy!"_ _

__"Hey, Kiddo. You feeling ok?" Bucky rubs her cheek fondly, smiling a fake smile._ _

__"Papa says you're having a bad day"._ _

__"Your papa is right, I am having a bad day. It'll get better, I just feel kinda..." Bucky waves his hand in the air, searching for a word that fits. "Stuck"._ _

__"Like when you fell down the stairs?"_ _

__"No, солнышко, different kind of stuck. Stuck in my head"._ _

__"Ooooooooooh." Sarah sits next to him, understanding more than she lets on. She knows her parents aren't completely ok, but they don't talk to her about it often, so she pretends not to know what they're talking about. It makes it easier for everybody._ _

__"So you really need 'get better' soup, huh?" Sarah kicks her legs back and forth._ _

__"M-hm. Why don't you go get your papa, солнышко?"_ _

__"Ok!" Sarah says as she rushes out of the room._ _

__Later, Auntie Wanda comes and takes her out to the park so that her dads can "Finish up uninterrupted"._ _

__Sarah doesn't actually know what she means by that, but the last time someone said that to her, Daddy and Papa were making funny noises in the bedroom._ _

__Sarah was going to stay far away from the funny noises. They scared her._ _

__~2 years and 2 months~_ _

__"Daddy?" Sarah wandered into her parent's bedroom, looking for her daddy. She heard the sound of someone throwing up. "Daddy?"_ _

__Sarah poked her head into the bathroom, and saw Bucky with his head in the toilet, retching violently. Sarah hesitated, then quietly entered the bathroom._ _

__"Daddy?" She asked in a hushed tone. "Daddy, are you sick?"_ _

__Bucky leans back and places a hand over his stomach, moaning softly. He looks at Sarah through bleary eyes, the first time he's done so in almost two years._ _

__"Sarah, солнышко, go get your father for me?" Bucky moans again, sticking his head back in the toilet bowl and retching again. Sarah rushes out of the room, looking for Daddy's phone, because Papa is on a mission and Daddy never refers to Papa as "father" unless he's really sick._ _

__Sarah finds the phone and calls Papa. He picks up on the third ring, like he always does._ _

__"Bucky, A stór, ní tamall maith anois é[Sweetheart, now is not a good time]." Steve says quietly, hissing into the phone._ _

__"Papa, Tá Daidí tinn[Daddy is sick]." Sarah responds in Gaelic, which gets Steve's attention._ _

__"Dammit. Give him the phone, sweetheart"._ _

__Sarah goes back to the bathroom, where Daddy is no longer throwing up._ _

__"Papa." is all she says as she hands Bucky the phone._ _

__"You are a blessing, солнышко. Go get your Uncle Bruce for me?"_ _

__Sarah left the room to go get her Uncle Bruce. She found him in the lab with Uncle Tony, talking about science and eating fresh raspberries._ _

__"Daddy wants you, Uncle Bruce." Sarah says as she grabs a raspberry, sitting with her uncle Tony and talking about "space and shit". Sarah laughs at his dumb space jokes, because they are really simple but also really funny. Uncle Tony laughs as Morgan rushes into the room, babbling about she discovered a star. Uncle Stephen follows her, holding Baby Isaac._ _

__When Uncle Bruce gets back, he's wheeling Daddy in a wheelchair, talking about "similar symptoms" and "Med's interfering with hormones". It sounds like a lot of boring grownup stuff until Daddy says something funny._ _

__"You're saying that my own stubbornness saved her life"._ _

__"It's very likely, yes. These medications are very bad for your hormonal balance, because of how they correct it. Your system is supposed to be out of whack when you're pregnant, it's no wonder something went wrong." Bruce says._ _

__"What if something different goes wrong?" Bucky places a hand on his stomach, the way he did when he told Sarah she was going to be a big sister, and she knows._ _

__"That's what I'm here for. You'll be fine. You got through Sarah, didn't you?"_ _

__"Daddy, am I gonna be a big sister?" Sarah says, crawling into his lap and smiling. Her daddy nods, tears springing up in his eyes. "Why are you sad?"_ _

__"I'm not." Bucky gasps, wiping away tears. "I'm so happy I circled back around and started crying. Isn't that silly?"_ _

__"Nope!" Sarah says matter-of-factly. "Your emotion's aren't silly. They are valid"._ _

__"Somebody's been spending too much time around Sam"._ _

__"Actually, Papa said that. He said it when I fell and skinned my knee"._ _

__"Oh. Why am I not surprised?"_ _

__"Can I have ice cream?" Sarah asks, which gets her a dubious look. "For celebrating"._ _

__"You're getting too smart, kiddo. Alright, ice cream it is!" Bucky giggles as he wheels out of the room as fast as possible._ _

__Sarah has never laughed harder in her whole life._ _


	4. Count to Ten(Ian's reprise)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah gets a little brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I know the last time I updated this fic was forever ago, but this will probably be the last chapter. Thanks for liking it and supporting me!

~1~  
Bucky knows on some level that something is wrong. The way his clothes sit on him, the way things smell, the way Sarah's laugh sounds. The way his hormonal correction pills taste funny.

The last time they had started to taste like that was when he miscarried.

He stops taking them, and nothing changes; things still feel wrong.

He refuses to think about it, but he still doesn't take the pills. They're designed to keep his nightmares in check, designed to keep his emotions from going all over the place. They're designed to fix what HYDRA did.

He doesn't like them, and not taking them helps for about a week.

~2~  
He wakes up and sprints for the bathroom, retching into the toilet. Sarah wanders into the bathroom, but all Bucky can think about is how the last time he felt like this was when he got the news he was pregnant with Sarah, how Steve isn't even here, and-

Bucky hears Sarah enter the room, hears her quavering "Daddy?". He leans back, placing a hand over his stomach.

"Sarah, солнце, get your father for me?" Bucky says, watching as his beloved little sunshine runs from the room and goes to get the phone before retching into the toilet again. When Sarah comes back, she simply hands him the phone and says "Papa". Bucky nods weakly before asking her to get Bruce, raising the phone to his ear.

"Babe, is everything ok?" Steve sounds worried, and Bucky feels bad for doing this to him, but he's nearly 100% certain at this point that it's morning sickness.

"I think I'm pregnant again".

Silence on the other end. Bucky begins to wonder if Steve got caught because of him.

"Jesus, ok. Do you want me to come home? Nat can handle waiting another two days for extraction." Steve says, and Bucky lets out a sigh of relief.

"No, I just... forgot you weren't home and got kind of freaked. I just hope that..."

Bucky doesn't say it, but the last time he got pregnant, he miscarried, and they still don't know why. He doesn't want to have to go through that again, because it just felt so wrong, knowing there was supposed to be a baby in a place where there wasn't one.

"Right, ok. Did you talk to Bruce?"

"I sent Sarah to get him".

"I figured. Shocked me for a second when she answered the phone. Promise me you'll do everything he says? Remember the anemia scares?"

"Yeah, I know." Bucky gives a dry laugh, remembering how he got anemia from his pregnancy with Sarah. "I'll listen to him".

"Babe..."

"Yes, ok, fine. I promise I'll do what Bruce says".

"Damn straight you will." Steve starts to laugh, but is distracted by something else. Bucky can hear his head turning. "I gotta go, Nat's giving me the look of shame".

"You're allowed to tell her, and be safe." Bucky chuckles as Steve makes a sound like sticking out his tongue. "I love you, sweetheart".

"Love you too".

Bucky hangs up just as Bruce skids into the room, looking a bit panicked. Bucky gives another wry chuckle before the nausea comes back and his head is in the toilet bowl. Bruce manages to convince him to use a wheelchair to go to the lab, but Bucky still is a little pissed about it. He can walk, he's not an invalid.

"I swear, Bruce, it's not like I'm anemic yet!" Bucky rolls his eyes as Bruce stammers about 'you should be more careful' and 'I told you that withdrawl from those meds was gonna hurt like a bitch'.

"You really should- What do you mean, 'yet'?" Bruce pauses and gives Bucky the side eye.

"Did I not mention that I'm 90% certain I'm pregnant? Cuz I'm 90% certain I'm pregnant." Bucky watches as Bruce's eyes go wide, then return to their quizzical position. "What?"

"It's probably a good thing you stopped taking your corrective meds." Bruce says, placing a fist over his mouth as he thinks. "I think that the balancing properties of the mediations interfered with you natural hormonal cycle, the one you're supposed to have when you're pregnant. As far as I can tell, that's what happened".

"They didn't do that for Sarah".

"You weren't taking them regularly when you had Sarah." Bruce points out as they get to the lab. Bucky just nods, then realizes something.

"So you're saying my stubbornness saved her life." He says as he catches sight of Sarah and Stephen talking to each other. Stephen has Baby Isaac in his arms, and Morgan is on the floor next to Tony, babbling loudly as she plays with various tools that Tony gives her.

"It's possible, yes, but I'll have to run tests to be certain." Bruce says, and Sarah walks up to them, and he becomes aware that he's crying.

By the time he stops, Sarah has figured out that she's going to be a big sister and has also convinced him to give her ice cream.

It's a good day.

~3~  
"Baaaaaaaaaabe." Bucky moans as he opens his eyes. He's dizzy as all hell, and his chest hurts. "Stevieeeee".

"Yeah, Buck?" Steve comes into the room, all dressed up and snazzy in his wedding suit, a smile on his face. Bucky himself is halfway dressed, his pants lying on the floor and his shirt twisted from where he fell. Steve's face instantly changes from flirtation to concern. "Buck?"

"I have anemia." Bucky moans, closing his eyes as more of the symptoms come to mind; Dizzy, check. Tight chest, check. Headache, check.

"Oh. Do you want to stay in?"

"Yes." Bucky tries to sit up and nearly falls off the bed. God, he's so dizzy. "Ah! Ow, ow, ow. That was a mistake".

"Headache?" Steve makes a funny noise when Bucky nods, the pain of his headache forcing him down onto the bed. Bucky lays back, the slight bulge in his stomach evident to him from where he is. Bucky places his hand over the spot where his stomach begins to curve up a little, the extra weight he carries a by-product of pregnancy. He feels bad for scaring Steve, especially because it's so minor.

"Shit, and you had this nice thing planned too!" Bucky hisses, feeling even worse as he says it. "I'm sorry, babe".

"Hey, don't ever apologize for being honest with me. I'm glad you told me." Steve gently touches the side of his face, caressing Bucky's cheek as he lowers his body against Bucky's. Steve is so gentle with him, what did he do to deserve this gorgeous, gentle blond?

"I must have done something right to get you, cuz God knows I don't deserve you." Bucky says softly. Steve instantly scowls at him, and Bucky prepares himself for the lecture.

"Maybe the universe decided you should get something good for getting screwed over so hard in the past." Steve says, kissing him lightly. As gentle as the kiss is, Bucky can tell Steve wants to be rough with him, and he feels bad for it; he can't give his Alpha what he needs.

"You can be rougher than that." Bucky says, even though he knows how bad it will feel later.

"I can... but I shouldn't." Steve eases up, and Bucky glares at him.

"What if I want you to be rough?"

"Will you regret saying that later?"

*Yes* Bucky thinks at the same time his mouth says "Maybe".

"I'm not doing it unless it's a solid no that's not a lie." Steve gives him a pointed look, and Bucky just sighs loudly, admitting defeat. Steve leaves to get him water and do something else, but Bucky just huffs and declares that he's still pissed.

Ten minutes later, Steve comes in with pizza. It's really good pizza, but he's still pissed. Wanda has Sarah for the whole night, and they can't even do anything! Steve tries to distract him by talking baby names, but he is adamant about staying pissed.

Ten minutes after that, Bucky's not pissed anymore.

To be fair, it's really good pizza.

~4~  
"Tasha, you're a saint." Bucky says as Natasha plays with Sarah, answering her questions about Bucky's pregnancy and braiding her hair. Bucky feels more tired than anything else, mostly because he can't do sparring or running anymore and he's bored out of his mind.

"How's it been?" Tasha asks him, and the look he gives her must be absolutely hilarious, because she starts laughing almost the second she looks at his face. "That bad, huh?"

"I'm not allowed to go running, I'm not allowed to spar with anyone, I can't go to the range... I'm bored shitless, Tasha!" Bucky throws up his hands in exasperation, but Tasha continues to snicker at him. "Fine, laugh at me".

"What's a shit?" Sarah asks.

"That's a no-no word, солнце".

"But you can say it".

"That's cuz I'm a grown-up, sweetheart".

"When I grow up, can I say no-no words?"

"Yes, but only if you don't tell your papa." Bucky says, laughing at how Sarah wrinkles her nose at that. "Yeah, I didn't think so. Bring me my phone?"

"You got legs." Sarah says pointedly, which earns her a high five from Tasha and a glare from Bucky.

"I don't want to get up. Where'd you learn that sass?"

"You." Sarah says innocently, but there is nothing innocent about her mannerisms.

"Bull. You learned it from your papa, didn't you?" Bucky smirks when Sarah goes red, confirming his suspicions. "Yeah, I thought so".

Sarah runs to go get his phone, and almost the second she leaves the room, Bucky feels his entire body sag with relief, pain lacing through him. Tasha picks up on the change quick, getting to her feet as she keeps an eye on Sarah.

"James?"

"I'm alright, it's just..." Bucky leans back, bringing a hand to his temple. "Between the natural hormonal imbalance and withdrawl from the correctional meds, there's a lot going on right now. It just feels kind of uncomfortable".

"James, you are clearly in pain. Don't lie to me".

"Ok, fine, it hurts like a bitch and a half, but I can't do anything about it except wait it out." Bucky places a hand against his stomach where he feels kicking. "And now the baby is freaking out on me, so that's fun".

"It's probably an Omega." Tasha muses before catching his confused expression. "Omegas have a high pain tolerance, and are more likely to survive stressful pregnancies".

"Huh." Bucky winces as his head starts pounding harder. "Ow. Head, stoppit".

Tasha just starts laughing at him again, and as Sarah comes back, he smiles dryly.

~5~  
"Babe!" Steve shakes him awake, and when Bucky glares blearily at the clock, he becomes aware of a sharp pain in his stomach.

No, not his stomach. His uterus.

"Shit!" He's far more awake now, panic flooding his veins. "Steve, what-"

"I don't know, I'm calling Bruce now." Steve sounds just as panicked, and Bucky wonders how he knew.

"How did you even-"

"You were emitting. Woke me up. Can you stand?"

Bucky tries and finds he can stand, and that his uterus hurts considerably more than he previously realized, but this definitely isn't a premature birth. This is something else.

"I- Babe." Bucky hears the tears in his voice long before he realizes he's crying. "I can't do this. Not a second time. Not so soon after-"

"I know, I know. The smell is tapering off a little, maybe it's not serious." Steve says it more out of hopefulness than certainty, and that makes Bucky even more nervous and scared.

"Baby, I can't do this again." Bucky sobs, and then Steve is picking him up, carrying him and calling for Friday to call Wanda down to watch Sarah, and if she's not available, could they try Nat instead? But all Bucky can focus on is the fact that they might lose the baby, they might lose the baby, he can't do this again, not so soon after the last time.

Thankfully, Bruce is waiting for them downstairs, and as Bucky eases onto the exam table, he realizes the pain is gone, and that the baby is kicking and and doesn't seem to be hurt. Bruce asks some questions, then turns to Steve, who looks scared more than anything else.

"When he gave birth to Sarah, did he emit?" Bruce points at Bucky when he says it, which confuses them both. 

"Um, just a little, I think? I was more focused on the operation than anything else, but I think so. I couldn't swear to it, though".

"Hm. Ok, I think I know what happened, but I'll have to run a few tests. If I'm right-" Bruce cuts off, then looks at Bucky. He holds his hand over Bucky's stomach, looking him in the eyes. "May I?"

Bucky nods, and Bruce presses heavily on Bucky's stomach. The action isn't painful, but it does trigger a tightening in Bucky's uterus, which scares him more than anything else.

"Bruce, stop." Bucky says, and Bruce immediately lets up. Steve has already stood and moved to help, but the pain lasts less than it had last time, and Bucky realizes that in his panic he probably inflated the situation as much worse than it actually was.

"What the hell?" Steve says as Bruce hums thoughtfully. "Bruce, what was that?"

"Braxton Hicks contractions. They're fairly common, but don't typically start until the late third trimester. They are completely harmless, but I understand if they gave you a scare. I've heard they can be quite painful for some Omegas." Bruce turns towards Bucky, a warm smile putting the last of his fears to rest. "They'll probably happen again, just to warn you, and nearly anything can set them off, but unless you experience greater-than-normal pain or start bleeding with no cause, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Stay hydrated, dehydration can be a trigger, and remember to stay calm. Stress can make them worse. They only last about 15-30 seconds typically, but can last up to two minutes".

"That's... a lot of information." Bucky says, but he's so relieved that he doesn't even mind. Steve looks like he's starting to understand what's happening.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. Yes, it is, but you have to understand that this isn't dangerous to you or your baby. You looked about ready to have a panic attack, and that would have been far worse for the baby than what was happening. You tend to calm down when you have to process a lot of information at once, and when I panic, I start listing information without explaining it".

"Huh. Can I go back to bed now?" 

"Yes, you can go back to bed now." Bruce laughs, and that's the end of that.

At least, until they get downstairs and Sarah starts asking them a million questions.

~6~  
"DADDYYYYYYYYY!"

The call jolt Bucky out of his nap, and as he blearily moves the book off his face, he hears it again, joined by another; "DADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! PAPAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Huh?" Steve sits up across from him, spilling off of their couch and onto the floor. Bucky sits up slowly, then glares in the direction of Sarah's room.

"She knows better than to yell in the house." Bucky mutters as the call sounds again. "SARAH! IF YOU WANT SOMETHING, COME OUT AND ASK!"

Silence for a moment, then; "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!"

"Oh my God, солнце." Bucky grumbles, then sighs in gratitude when Steve gets up. "Can you please take care of this?"

"She knows better than to yell in the house." Steve grunts, then moves towards their daughter's bedroom, rolling his eyes.

Bucky settles in to continue his nap, but is interrupted when Steve calls his name. He groans inwardly, knowing that it has to do with Sarah.

"What is it?" Bucky calls, and even as he starts to get up, he knows that he is not going to get to finish his nap.

"You need to come see this!" Steve responds, sounding slightly pained, which means it's not a discipline thing.

Bucky trundles over to Sarah's door, then blinks in surprise at the sight. Sarah is holding her arm out in front of her, something white poking through the skin. It takes Bucky two seconds of panic to realize it's the bone.

"Ok, that's a broken arm." Bucky closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly. "Sarah, honey, how did you do that?"

"I-" Sarah whines, and Bucky realizes that they're not getting answers out of her. Steve comes out of her bathroom with a washcloth and some bandages from the first aid kit that they have in every bathroom. Bucky catches Steve's eye, then watch as he dissolves into giggles. Bucky just gives another exasperated gasp.

"You are literally no help." He groans, slapping his face as the baby kicks violently.

"What exactly did you expect? She's got my genes and yours, it was only a matter of time-"

"I expected it to happen when she was at least four! And what do you mean, my genes, this is all you!"

"I know." Steve laughs at Sarah's expression. "Did we scare you, sweetheart?"

"Are you mad at me?" Sarah whines, and Bucky instantly changes his expression.

"No, солнце, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at your father for being a punk ass bitch-"

"What did I do?" Steve interrupts.

"-But I'm not mad at you. Let's get you down to Bruce's level, m'kay?"

"ok." Sarah says quietly, and Bucky moves to pick her up before remembering exactly why that is a bad idea.

"Steven." Bucky says, and Steve picks her up, telling her about his first break, when he was eleven and Bucky was twelve. Bucky tunes them out, forcing down the giggles because Sarah is Steve's daughter if nothing else.

"Are you laughing?" Steve smirks, and Bucky resists the urge to shove his face, like when they were kids. "You are! You're laughing!"

"Shaddup, punk." Bucky smiles at his husband, hope and love and a gentle but fierce need to protect flooding him. His husband, his daughter, his unborn child, he loves them all, and it strikes him that not even three years ago he didn't think he could ever have this, he still didn't trust himself enough to even consider it.

He's so happy that he's better now.

~7~  
"-Have lost sight of both Captain America and Iron Man, with the Incredible Hulk soon to follow and- I'm getting word that the Black Widow has come back out with Iron Man, with Captain America still MIA..."

"FRIDAY, mute screen." Bucky says, tears rolling lazily down his face. Steve is still missing in action, no one's seen him in 15 minutes when he went into the subway station to help evacuate civilians.

The villain they left to fight had a bunch of drones, and even though they weren't very good, they were still powerful, powerful enough that when Steve got hit earlier, he almost didn't get up; Bucky could tell it was taking far more effort than it should have. That had been thirty minutes ago, and an hour earlier, Steve had gotten the call to arms and went to go fight. Bucky gave him a peck on the lips and one instruction; "Be careful".

Now he's sitting in their living room, unsure if he is ever going to see his husband again. Morgan and Isaac are sitting next to Sarah, who is avidly watching the news report., scanning the screen for any sign of her papa.

"Daddy, what happens if he dies?" Sarah asks, and Bucky can hear how she tries to disguise it as an innocent question, how hard she tries to keep the fear out of his voice. She fails miserably.

"I don't know." Bucky answers thickly, trying not to let Sarah know just how hard that question hits.

He's pretty sure he fails miserably, too. He bows his head and starts praying, silently, for an answer, any answer, just to end the tension that comes from not knowing.

Twenty minutes later, he gets his answer; Stephen calls his cellphone, and when Bucky lunges for it, frantically tapping the screen, his vision goes blurry from the tears. He answers, and at first all he can do is gasp as he pushes back tears.

"Tell me he's ok." Bucky finally manages, having regained enough control to speak.

"He's alright, but-" Bucky doesn't even hear what Stephen says next, he's so overwhelmed with emotions. He gasps for breath, half sobbing and half laughing in relief. It takes him a few minutes to calm down, but once he does, he's ready to hear what Stephen says next.

"He's ok." Bucky prompts, and that seems to bring Stephen back to the conversation.

"Yes, physically, he's fine, but he's not waking up, and we're not sure why. We thought it might have something to do with his injuries, but that's not it. I can't do a spell check until SHIELD intervenes, so it may be a while before we learn anything new. Keeping up with me so far?"

Bucky nods before he remembers that Stephen can't see him and he has to give a verbal answer. He manages to squeak out a 'yes' before clamping his mouth shut, determined not to cry.

"Remember, physically, he's fine. He'll live, is what I mean by that. He's got two broken ribs and a shattered hip bone. It'll be a least two months before he's walking unaided again, accounting for the heal factor. And..."

"And what?"

"Before he passed out, he was talking nonsense. I thought maybe he was super out of it, but looking back at the hit he took, it's highly probable he'll have aphasia after this".

"What's that?"

"Its a disconnect in your brain regarding language. It messes with your ability to communicate. In most cases, what the affected means to say and what actually comes out are two different- and often unrelated- words. Depending on what was affected, he may not make any sense until he gets speech therapy, but it should be fairly quick work once his brain starts healing. Small blessings, I guess".

"Can I see him?" Bucky blurts before he can stop himself. He knows the answer will probably be 'no', but he doesn't much care.

"If you think that's a good idea, we're at Lady Mary's on Broadway. But he looks pretty messed up, and like I said, he's not waking up." Stephen gets distracted, then sighs loudly. "Anthony, don't do that. No, babe wait-"

The sound cuts out, and Bucky realizes that Stephen hung up. Sarah approaches him, and he turns to him, a sad smile adorning his face.

"He's ok." Bucky says, and Sarah starts crying, clutching his leg. "Sarah, honey, there's more. He got really hurt, and he's not waking up. He's not in danger, he's just not waking up. And his ribs got broken, so you're gonna have to be careful when he comes home".

Sarah nods, and they go to the hospital. Bucky notices all the eyes on him as he, a heavily pregnant Omega, goes up to the icu and slips into the room that almost no one else is allowed in. Bucky sits by Steve's bed, waiting.

It's another three days before he wakes up, but once he does, Bucky breathes easier than he has in a while. Steve has trouble speaking at first, but Bucky doesn't mind putting in extra work to understand.

Steve's pissed about his hip being broken, though. Somehow, that makes Bucky laugh so hard he pees himself a little.

~8~  
"Babe. Can you help me make a spatula?"

"Um..." Bucky pauses, trying to figure out if that was an actual request or if something jut got lost in translation. He turns to see Steve's face all screwed up,, and he realizes it was the latter.

"Wait, no. Help me... make a spatula." Steve hisses sharply and whacks the doorway. "Goddammit!"

"Babe. Calm down. You know that this is going to take work. Deep breath..." Bucky inhales through his nose, smiling as Steve does the same. "Good. Now, try again, using Dr. Viari's techniques. Picture the word, then say it".

"Help me make... tie- help me tie my spatula." Steve almost looks proud of himself until he realizes he messed up again. "DAMNIT!"

"Babe, don't punch the door." Bucky says, pushing himself into a standing position from where he was next to the dryer. The heal factor has helped Steve relearn speech patterns quicker than most would, but he still stumbles, and Bucky can see how frustrating it is for him.

"Should be better." Steve says, shortening his speech the way he does when he's angry. It used to only be a problem when he was a kid, but since the accident, the habit has come back, and Steve is doing nothing to fix that particular aspect. "Should be fixed".

"It's been a month, babe. Give it time. Now, you wanna try again, or do you wanna try pictionary?"

"Help me tie... my shoes?" Steve says it slowly, then lights up, a smile spreading over his face. "I got it right!"

"You did! I'm so proud of you!" Bucky gives Steve a quick kiss. "And, yes, I will help you tie your shoes. I'm surprised you haven't asked our little escape artist".

"I don't trust her. She's like me." Steve smiles, then pantomimes tying a knot and tripping.

"Ah, so that was you. Good to know".

"I was 6!" Steve groans, then smiles again. "You're such a chicken".

The smile fades, and Bucky tilts Steve's face up as he glares at the floor. Steve glances down, and Bucky puts down the laundry basket that's been digging into his hip, holding Steve's face as he smiles ruefully.

"Babe, look at me." Bucky says when Steve glances away. "I know it's hard. I know it's frustrating. I know, but you can't give up. You've made so much progress, I don't want you to quit just because things aren't working out. I know the heal factor make it easier, I know that's what they said, but easy is relative. I want you to remember that, ok?"

"Fuck." Steve mutters, and Bucky draws him into a hug, his swollen belly pressing against his husband. The baby gives a small twitch, and Bucky smiles as Steve drops his hand down to rest against his belly.

"Baby." Steve smiles sadly, and Bucky knows that he's not going to be verbal for a while.

"Yeah. Babe, where are your crutches?"

"No." Steve says quickly, then refuses to offer anything else.

"The doctor said you have to use them. One more month, babe, then you can take all this-" Bucky gestures at the leg brace and bandages. "-off. One more month, babe, ok?"

"No crutches. Not cripple." Steve says petulantly, sitting on the couch in a huff.

"Babe".

"Fine." Steve points at the doorway, and Bucky opens the closet in the hallway to find Steve's crutches and his spare brace. "Not fucking cripple".

"Babe. Disabled".

"Fine, disabled. Don't care, I'm not that".

"I never said you were, I just said that the doctors said you need the crutches for another month, and you can't argue with me on that".

"Mm." Steve grunts, and Bucky sighs, knows that he's gone non-verbal.

"Papa! Look at what I drew!" Sarah calls, and he hears how Steve hums quietly in response to their daughter. At least when he goes non-verbal, he'll still respond to Sarah. When Bucky turns back, he's smiling, and Bucky laughs at him, placing a hand on his swollen belly as he sits next to his husband. Today isn't a great day, but as sucky as it feels, it will get better.

Bucky has hope, and that goes a long way.

~9~  
Bucky's eyes snap open and feels something wet and warm spreading from his lower region, and while at first he thinks he's pissed himself, the sharp squeeze in his uterus quickly informs him otherwise.

"Steve." Bucky taps his husband's shoulder, and he mentally takes stock; with Sarah, when his water broke he couldn't walk, but he had already been instructed to keep off his feet, and he wasn't about to try getting out of the wheelchair. He tries to sit up, and the sharp pain that follows let's him know just how bad of an idea that was.

"Steven." Bucky groans as the contractions start coming. "FRIDAY, get Bruce for m-AH!"

The sharp twist of the contraction cuts him off, and he tries desperately to curl up and hide from the pain. Steve sits up sharply next to him, and he knows that he's seen Bucky, heard him. Bucky is grateful for that, but he's in too much pain to really care.

"Fri, lights up." Steve is saying, and then, "Can you walk? Oh, Jesus, what did we do last time?"

"Daddy? Papa?" Sarah is at their door, and Bucky lets out another sharp gasp of pain, which tapers off into a groan. God, it fucking hurts! "Papa, is Daddy dying?"

"No, sweetheart, he's not dying, he's in labor. Your sibling is on the way." Steve gets Bucky's wheelchair from their closet, helping him into it. Bucky tries to let Steve know that they have to call Wanda to come babysit Sarah, but all that comes out is a whine.

"Buck?" Steve says, and Bucky wants to tell him that they need to call Wanda, that he's so proud that Steve hasn't tripped on any of his words, that no, Sarah, he's ok, but nothing comes out. Nothing escapes him except for a low gasp and a small whine.

"We need to- Fuck, um, word- Wanda! We need to call Wanda, and then-" Steve is cut off by FRIDAY connecting the comms to Bruce's level, showing the scientist's sleepy face and unmanageable bedhead. "Bruce, he's going into labor!"

"Huh? I- Wait, WHAT?" Bruce looks a lot more awake when Steve says that. "Jesus, now? Ok, let me get up to the lab. I'll see you there?"

"I gotta call Wanda and get her here, and I gotta clothsline the food-" Steve cuts off, then closes his eyes and groans. "Fuck. Nevermind, not important".

Bucky winces the whole way up to Bruce's lab, and nearly cries when Bruce sticks the IV in him and drugs him up for the operation. Soon, Bucky is on his back, holding Steve's hand and working through his contractions by listening to Steve blabber.

"-Emily, that's a cute name for a girl. Jesus, we didn't think this through with Sarah, did we? Or at all, now that I'm thinking about it".

"What if it's a boy?" Bucky pants, groaning when Bruce presses the scalpel into his flesh.

"Roman, Adam, Damien. I also like Ian, Archer, Daniel, Michael... Whatever you want, I'm fine with".

"I like Ian." Bucky says thoughtfully, the drugs really kicking in and causing him to loop out. "I like Ian a lot. And Isabella for a girl".

"Ok, Ian and Isabella. Good choices." Steve smiles, and Bucky suddenly gets the feeling that he looks a whole lot worse than he feels, because Steve doesn't normally look that worried.

"What's wrong?" He says, and damn, that was the wrong thing to say, because Steve starts to hide his fear.

"Nothing, I guess I'm just nervous. It's silly".

Bucky wants to say that it's not silly, but suddenly the contractions stop, and the sudden release of pain overwhelms him to the point that he can't remember how to speak. He just sits there, bleary-eyed and dizzy.

"Count to ten for me, Bucky, I need to know you're awake".

Bucky counts; "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10", then again, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10".

He counts again and again and again as Bruce cuts and slices and presses on his skin, and then he hears Steve gasp, and just like with Sarah, he fears the worst.

And just like with Sarah, he relaxes when he hears Steve whisper "He's gorgeous" as the bundle in his arms lets out a wail.

Bucky gives a weak smile, and when Steve turns towards him, smiling, he knows that they're going to be ok. Things almost went wrong on several levels, but they're going to be ok, he's never been more sure of it.

"He's gorgeous." Steve says again, bringing the squalling bundle over to Bucky, and he has gorgeous dark blond hair and bright blue eyes. He remembers how Sarah looked when she was born, compares it to now; She is dirty blonde with storm grey eyes, and she has freckles like Steve when he was little. Ian has a long way to go, but Bucky looks at him and knows, somehow, that his Ian is not going to look like his sister.

"He looks like you, almost." Steve whispers again, and Bucky nods before drifting towards sleep.

His Sarah and his Ian, his two gorgeous kids, his babies. And his wonderful, incredible husband, his Stevie. He doesn't know what he did to deserve them, but he got them, and he must be doing something right, cuz they're still here. And as he falls asleep, he reflects on that, and decides that if he knew he'd get the same outcome, he'd do it all over again. 

Right from that party where he kissed his best friend.

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so this was supposed to have Bucky getting pregnant, but that didn't happen, obviously. I'm going to have to split this into two parts cuz I have to be up early tomorrow and it's already 11:35. I'm not used to late nights.


End file.
